1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of golf clubs and golf swing practice aids.
2. Description of Prior Art
Practice clubs in the prior art include short clubs and clubs with projecting light beams. However, none of these has the combination of simplicity, convenience, completeness, and effectiveness of the present invention. Some examples of the prior art follow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,802 (Daechsel) shows a shortened practice club with a light beam projecting from the head parallel to the shaft. This club illuminates the plane of the lower part of the swing only. It has no means to illuminate the plane of the upper back-swing and upper follow-through in a line that is visible to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,888 (Pellegrini) shows a laser light attachment for the grip end of standard golf clubs, which projects a laser beam from the grip end of the shaft along the axis of the shaft. This device illuminates the plane of the upper back-swing and upper follow-through in a line that is visible to the user, but it does not illuminate the plane of the lower part of the swing. The club is full sized, so it cannot be used indoors with a standard ceiling height.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,991 shows a pair of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are attachable to a standard golf club, providing two light beams, which are projected parallel to the shaft in both directions. The beams are below the axis of the shaft, so they do not trace the swing plane of the shaft. The installed device is not compact, and thus cannot be used indoors with a standard ceiling height. Since the beams do not project from the ends of the shaft, it is impractical to place this device across the thighs to check the squareness of a golfers stance.